LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 26: (L-R) Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Lulu Wang, and Aoi Mizuhara ... [+]
Earlier this month, The Farewell blew past all reasonable expectations and captured the best per-theater average of 2019—even topping Avengers: Endgame, now the highest-grossing films of all time.
And after its third weekend in theaters this past weekend, The Farewell has continued that success. Playing in just 135 locations, its per-theater average stands at an incredibly impressive $11,510.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of The Farewell's limited theater run is the fact that the film cracked the top 10 at the box office this past weekend. Competing against movies like The Lion King, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Spider-Man: Far From Home, which all played in over 3,500 theaters, that is quite the feat for The Farewell.
From July 12-14, The Farewell opened to a $355,662 debut weekend. Playing at just four locations, that came to an average of $88,916 per theater. On July 19, its theater count nearly decupled to 35 theaters and earned an additional $1.1 million, for an average of $32,723 per theater.
Then this past weekend added another $1.6 million to this indie darling's grand total, which now stands at $3.7 million.
After a summer of seemingly nothing but slumping sequels and Disney juggernauts, Lulu Wang's humble film featuring an Asian cast seems to be striking a cord with audiences in the few neighborhoods where it's played. It could be going the route of yet another recent popular Asian film, Crazy Rich Asians, which opened to four straight weekends of more than $20 million at the box office. Featured in many more locations at the beginning of its run, that film ultimately amassed $174.5 million in the U.S. and $238.5 million worldwide by the end of its run.
Performing so well in so few theaters is a great marker of The Farewell's potential success as it heads into more theaters. Building hype around a tale that hits home for many viewers, The Farewell isn't just becoming the summer's indie champion, but is poised to make a run during awards season as well.
